Doctrine and Covenants Lesson 16: “Thou Shalt … Offer Up Thy Sacraments upon My Holy Day” --Sara

I really enjoyed the discussion Alison led this last week about spiritual gifts. Wow, I didn't realize such a topic could be so fascinating! Thank you so much for your participation!

One of the biggest struggles I had when we started switching over to the Doctrine and Covenants, was knowing how to cover everything. How to cover all the context of the revelations and the scriptures themselves and any modern prophetic statements all the while having time for class discussion (which is my favorite part).

I finally came to the conclusion, that if I tried to cover everything, no one would get anything. It is just like Alison mentioned in class on Sunday, "In class, we talk about the doctrine." But boy, reading all of this context stuff has been really fun for me. Our section this week is Doctrine and Covenants 59 and here are a few of the context articles that were recommended:

“The Journey of the Colesville Branch.”

“Revelation, 7 August 1831 [D&C 59]”:

Our Living Room Became the Sacrament Hall”

I think one of my favorite things about reading the articles that the church gives, is because it helps me remember how hard it must have been to start a church in the 1800s. You don't have a way to communicate to all of the branches who are spread out, everyone is a convert, there aren't enough copies of the Book of Mormon for every family to have one, and the people around them were incredibly intolerant. I loved reading about the journey of the Colesville Branch probably because I didn't know any of those facts before reading! (Highly encouraged :)

One of the directions I feel currently prompted to go for this week's lesson is Pres. Eyring's talk (Gratitude on the Sabbath) from October 2016's General Conference. He talks about gratitude and the Sabbath Day. I loved so many things from his talk and don't know if it was just what I needed to hear, or if it is something our class needs to hear. So in the meantime, while I figure that out, I will share a few of the excerpts that really touched me.

In this excerpt, Pres. Eyring takes a few of the verses from our reading assignment in section 59:

We feel grateful for many things: a kindness from a stranger, a meal when we are hungry, a dry roof over our heads when storms arise, a broken bone that heals, and the hearty cry of a newborn baby. Many of us will remember feeling gratitude at such moments.
For Latter-day Saints, the Sabbath is such a moment, actually a day, of gratitude and love. The Lord instructed the Saints in Jackson County, Missouri, in 1831 that their prayers and thanks should be directed heavenward. The early Saints were given a revelation about how to keep the Sabbath day and how to fast and pray.1They, and we, were told by the Lord how to worship and give thanks on the Sabbath. As you can tell, what matters most is the love we feel for the givers of the gifts. Here are the Lord’s words of how to give thanks and how to love on the Sabbath:
“I give unto them a commandment, saying thus: Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, with all thy might, mind, and strength; and in the name of Jesus Christ thou shalt serve him. …
“Thou shalt thank the Lord thy God in all things.
“Thou shalt offer a sacrifice unto the Lord thy God in righteousness, even that of a broken heart and a contrite spirit.”2And then the Lord goes on to warn of danger should we fail to thank Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ as the givers of the gifts: “And in nothing doth man offend God, or against none is his wrath kindled, save those who confess not his hand in all things, and obey not his commandments.”3

So, the Sabbath is a time to recognize what God has given us. As obvious as that sounds, I haven't been giving him enough credit lately in my life. This quote from Pres. Eyring's talk helped me recognize that:

One blessing for which we can be grateful is that we are there in that sacrament meeting at all, gathered with more than one or two of His disciples in His name. There are some at home unable to rise from their beds. There are some who would like to be where we are but are instead serving in hospitals and providing public safety or are defending us at the risk of their own lives in some desert or jungle. The fact that we are able to gather with even one other Saint and partake of the sacrament will help us begin to feel gratitude and love for God’s kindness.

There are many things I realized I was taking for granted when I heard him say that. Now where do I go from here? I have desire to make my Sabbath a delight, but how do I do it different than I already have been? First thing: Simplify. Don't go crazy and make costumes so your kid can reenact scripture stories or make an intensely fancy dinner that leaves you with a feeling of being overwhelmed as you stare at the huge pile of dishes. I take even some silly things that I do every day and don't let myself do them on Sunday just to help me remember that Sunday isn't a day to lounge, but a day to focus on the welfare of my soul. One of the things I give up is making dinner. Yes, I'll pull out the crockpot every once and awhile, or we'll grill some chicken, but one of the stressful things that I have to do every day is make dinner for my family. It's part of my "job" if you will. So, I decided that leftovers, scrambled eggs, or burritos were something that I needed us to do currently so that I would be less stressed on the Sabbath.

For Sam, my 4-year old, we decided that keeping the Sabbath day holy for him is not watching anything that has Lightening McQueen in it or Daniel Tiger since he wants to or does watch one of those things nearly every day. Lightening McQueen and Daniel Tiger are not bad at all, but for Sam, we saw that the best way to teach him about the Sabbath day at this time was to show him that it is a day that is different from every day. It was really hard for him at first and for me, but we were amazed at the random blessings from that decision. We are forced to spend more time together and have found a lot of fun things to do together that we didn't do before. We love spending time watching family videos and telling them family stories. We play games together, bake together, and sing together. It's been really fun to be forced to remember to appreciate my children and the absolute joy they bring to me on Sundays.

Here is the quote from Pres. Eyring that helps us know what other simple focuses that can direct our lives on the Sabbath:

You and I are witnesses that whenever we have kept our covenants with God, especially when it was hard, He has heard our prayers of thanks for what He has already done for us and has answered our prayer for strength to endure faithfully. And more than once He has made us cheerful as well as strong.
You might well be wondering what you could do to live and worship on this Sabbath day to demonstrate your gratitude and to strengthen yourself and others for trials that lie ahead.
You could begin today with a private and family prayer of thanks for all God has done for you. You could pray to know what the Lord would have you do to serve Him and others. Particularly, you could pray to have the Holy Ghost tell you of someone who is lonely or in need to whom the Lord would have you go.
I can promise you your prayers will be answered, and as you act on the answers you will receive, you will find joy in the Sabbath, and your heart will overflow with thankfulness.

Those are two ways he recommends focusing on making Sunday sacred and dedicated to God. He talks in another part of his talk, about how he loves the spontaneity of Sundays and how good things happen when we are looking for ways to serve. I love how for each of us, this will look different, and yet, the same since the key to making the Sabbath a delight is to simplify and follow the spirit.